The great bag hunt

[Malok]

I spend perhaps 20 hours a week hiking through the mountains of Rocky Mountain National Park doing landscape photography. I am looking for a bag that will be easy to carry in this terrain summer or winter, rain or shine. I've thought of the backpack type which would be easy to carry, but it would be difficult to access quickly if I come across a good shot of a bear, bird or mountain lion.

As for pack size I don't have much gear: 300D, two zoom lenses, one primary and a handful of filters and extra battery. If it is any help, I also try to carry a bit of food, water, tripod, map and a rain jacket.

Can anyone suggest a bag that might best meet my needs? Also, if anyone has the bag I am looking for (used) and wants to sell it cheaply, let me know!

Malok

[CoolToolGuy]

I love the shoulder bag for myself, but I don't think that is a good choice for you. I understand the concern for the backpack, since quick access is the reason why I don't have one.
Take a look at the belt systems. Tamrac and LowePro both have them. You can make up the set of pouches just as you like including a holster for the camera, lens pouches, accessories, water, etc. Put it on a belt and you have the accessibility and the weight is distributed. These are similar in concept to military belts, so you may be able to mix and match to get exactly what you want. I think you can even get suspenders to spread the load out even more.

Hope this helps
Rick 8)

[kanwingshing]

I love the top loader bags from Lowepro. It is a very good design. You can carry this on your chest for easy access to the camera. If you want more storage, you can also get a waist belt from their S&F series and add pouches on them. I think this is your best choice in the market. I am using all these a I love it. :wink:

http://www.lowepro.com/pages/series/street/top70aw.htm

http://www.lowepro.com/pages/series/street/deluxblt.htm

[samdring]

As I see it:

Top Loaders fine but the bit you want next is always under the bit you loaded at the top!

Back Packs are great in that they are side loaders - everything on view at once. They do however, need an owner with a fairly bendy neck to achieve this or a thief bringing up the rear!

Side and Top loaders are available as one (I use Lowepro Omni) but are normally Shoulder (larger sizes) or Shoulder/Belt for the smaller ones.

[robertwgross]

I have the same problem in California. I can take my huge Lowepro backpack, but that puts everything behind you, so you have to stop to get any gear. A shoulder bag works better, and that forces you to cut down your gear to a moderate degree. My Lowepro shoulder bag isn't quick enough to open.

What I've done is this. I carry my big wildlife lens in a cloth shopping bag with a rain jacket or warm shirt wrapped around it. That goes on my shoulder, and it is fast to get into. This lens is something I might need to get out in a hurry.

My personal stuff, like lunch and water, goes onto or into a huge fanny pack. That is behind me, but I don't need to get into it in a hurry. There is room for a wide lens or a flower lens, but again, those you don't need to get to in a hurry.

Then I'll have my camera hanging around my neck with a broad-range zoom on it.

Where this gets sticky is when I have to carry a tripod, which is more than half of the time. Normally, I have to stick it into the cloth bag.

---Bob Gross---

[kanwingshing]

The way I setup by "backpack" is this:
Top loader, that holds the 10D with 70-200mm. Nothing is at the bottom so you never have trouble finding stuff. The bag is fully occupied anyways with that lens. Memory card are in the zip lock on top loader too. If you don't have a lens that size you can go for a smaller Top loader. If that's the case you can even put the top loader on your belt instead of on your chest.
On my belt, I have 1 more lens pouch to hold a 17-40. And then that's pretty much it.

[iwatkins]

I use a LowePro Stealth Reporter 300AW (there are larger bag sizes).

This has a large padded belt loop.

Most of the time I use it just as a shoulder bag, with the shoulder strap over the same shoulder as the side of my body where the bag is.

But if I've got some terrain to negotiate, I put the shoulder strap over the opposite shoulder (i.e. strap crossing my chest/back) and fit a belt around my waist and through the belt loop on the bag.

This way some of the weight of the bag is carried by the belt, the bag is more stable and not swinging about while I climb over fences/rocks/streams etc. but I can still have the bag at my side or side/front, flip the lid and pull out the camera is a couple of seconds.

Works for me. :)

Cheers

Ian

[Malok]

Thanks for the different suggestions.

I am certainly considering all the options you have mentioned from the top loaders, to the stealth reporter, to the cloth shopping bag! I'm still not sure which I will get yet as I need to figure out how I will bring a little food, water, sweater, tripod, etc. Perhaps I need to bring a standard backpack with me as well, but then I will be covered front and back, which might be a bit hot in the summer. I realize that there are no easy answers to this, apart from buying a llama, but that creates its own set of problems. :wink:

One question regarding the top loaders, would they take both my 70-200 and an 18-55, with my filters or would I need to get the belt for the the second lens?

Keep the ideas coming, they are very helpful!

Malok

[IanD]

Thanks for the different suggestions.

I am certainly considering all the options you have mentioned from the top loaders, to the stealth reporter, to the cloth shopping bag! I'm still not sure which I will get yet as I need to figure out how I will bring a little food, water, sweater, tripod, etc. Perhaps I need to bring a standard backpack with me as well, but then I will be covered front and back, which might be a bit hot in the summer. I realize that there are no easy answers to this, apart from buying a llama, but that creates its own set of problems. :wink:

One question regarding the top loaders, would they take both my 70-200 and an 18-55, with my filters or would I need to get the belt for the the second lens?

Keep the ideas coming, they are very helpful!

Malok
LowePromakes a series of padded lens cases that attatch to the TopLoaders with their SlipLock attatchemnt system.
http://www.lowepro.com/pages/proindex.htm
I have a couple of them that I attatch to my TopLoader AW75 to carry different lenses. Nice light rig.